E-COMMERCE firm Shopee bought Brazilian fintech Blu’s local credit arm, according to a regulatory filing on Monday (Dec 18), as the Singapore-based company aims to offer credit directly to customers living in Latin America’s largest economy.

The deal, which has not yet been announced by the companies, won a preliminary approval from Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade according to the country’s official gazette.

The Cade filing did not say how much Shopee would pay to Blu, backed by US private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Neither Shopee nor Warburg Pincus immediately respond to requests for comment, while Blu could not immediately be reached.

In November, Shopee had said in a legal filing ahead of the deal that the acquisition should help it grow its Brazilian business and cut costs, as it prepared to end a partnership with a local firm through which it currently offers customer credit.

Owned by Singaporean e-commerce firm Sea, Shopee has nine distribution centres in Brazil after entering the market in 2020. Brazil marks its first foray outside Asia and now counts over three million local merchants.

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Brazil’s central bank last year gave Shopee the green light to operate as a payment institution. REUTERS